Oh, Plans. Yeah, Plans. Sigh.


Aloe pseudorubroviolacea plans to bloom

Plans don't always work out.  The plan was that Ceanothus 'Ray Hartman', purportedly fast and large growing,  would create a large shrub and provide screening and beauty and native bird habitat. 


I planted 'Ray', and 'Ray' proceeded to sit and do zilch for two--or was it three--years.  I believe during that time it got a new leaf, yes, a whole new leaf, said leaf that then died.  It might have been a dining room chair for all the growth it put on.  So I gave up on it, left it to die, and made other plans.  I moved three 'Green Tower' boxwood into the space behind the non-growing 'Ray'.   

Then, of course, 'Ray' decided to grow. 

It changed its mind about dying
In the meantime, besides the boxwoods, I'd added another Ceanothus ('Valley Violet'), a rose, some dahlia tubers, and a dozen Hippeastrum bulbs.  

So, do I move three 'Green Tower's, 'Valley Violet', a rose, some dahlia tubers, and a dozen Hippeastrum bulbs, or do I move 'Ray'?  'Ray' which is described as "sensitive to root disturbance".   

Did you know that "sensitive to root disturbance" means if you move it, it will probably die?

It's being sensitive right now in its new spot.    Maybe it changed its mind about dying again.
 The thing of it is, when I dug it up I discovered it had hardly any roots at all.  The ones it had were fresh, white, and healthy, but after years of sitting, I expected more roots than what would fit easily in a 4" pot.  Grow or not, 'Ray'.  I've got an Abelia 'Confetti' waiting for your spot.

And two more Callistemon 'Slims'.  Because they looked great, fresh and were cheap.  If your impulse buy works out, was it a plan after all? 
In other places, I'm planning ahead, way ahead, because I'm worried 'Ivory Sheen' Pittosporum might suddenly die.  A few P. tenuifoliums in the neighborhood--large established ones, have done just that. 
So I planted one of the volunteer oak seedlings underneath it.  
In about five years, if the oak survives, it will be a good long-term replacement for the Pitto.  Maybe.  

In the meantime, flowers to enjoy.
'Barcelona' is particularly enjoyable. 
 The new Liatris are doing very well.  They need to be scattered around a bit.  My plan for a mass planting might not work out. 
 Dwight Eisenhower is quoted as saying more than once that "Plans are worthless, but planning is everything."   It may have been an old military aphorism.  

Plans end up thrown out the window, but planning--thinking things through, thinking through options, thinking through what could go wrong, can create success.  I wonder if Eisenhower gardened.  

"Mrs. Eisenhower's favorite flowers are the Violet, the Gardenia, the Azalea, and the Gladiola. I am likewise fond of these particular flowers but my own favorite is the Rose and of all varieties the yellow Rose ranks first in my estimation." ....letter signed Dwight D. Eisenhower dated August 24, 1967

Comments

  1. I think it's good to make plans but even better to go with the flow if things turn out differently. I was actually shocked to hear your ''Ray Hartman' he almost no roots AND lived as long as it did. Do you know what might have happened?

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    1. Not a clue. I thought it might be growing roots all this time...but it wasn't doing anything at all. ?!?!?!??

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  2. Some of the best laid plans are not as pleasing as a few spontaneous works. Dwight and I agree about the yellow roses. This one that you pictured makes my heart melt.

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    1. Well, perhaps Dwight meant we can attribute the accidental successes to the planning, and the abject failures to the plans!

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    2. That's 'Molineux' by the way. An outstanding yellow rose. DDE would have liked it.

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  3. Planning just demonstrates what’s special with the human brain, and that applies to garden planning too. Hopefully Ray wouldn’t mind getting moved again.

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    1. Ray is looking somewhat droopy after his move, but shows signs of life. He'll get a shade cover for the summer, if he makes it through tomorrow, which is expected to be 88F/31C. Yikes, that's hot. Maybe he'll get the shade cover today...

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  4. Oh, poor 'Ray.' I loved Ceanothus when I first moved to the west coast, because they were a novelty to me, but I'm not highly enamored of them now. I'd yank it and let it die completely in the yard waste bin, and put those that are waiting for its space in. I'm in the middle of implementing lots of plans that I've been mulling all winter, when I can do it without getting wet (sorry to remind you of our rain).

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    1. Blue flowers, so no can do yank. Must save, because: blue flowers! Ray may die on his own though, and relieve me of any guilt.

      Wet. I'm trying to remember what that is like. It was here back in 2017, for a few glorious days.

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  5. Methinks the General knew whereof he spoke. I also think the grower lied about how fast 'Ray Hartman' (or any Ceanothus) grows.

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    1. The original landscape here had 'Concha', and it was fast, and enormous, and ecstactically happy because it had its own 3.5 gallon a minute sprinkler. No, really.

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  6. You need someone more reliable than Ray. So he finally decided to grow a little, you can only wait so long :)
    Love the roses, so lush I can't believe they handle the heat as well as they do.

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    1. Maybe 'Ray' just doesn't like me? Those super-handsome guys can be arrogant. :(

      We are considered "coastal" SoCal here, with much more mild summers than inland SoCal--25 degrees cooler most days in summer, still warm 80ish, but much more bearable than 105ish. So the roses are quite happy, and most of mine are long established, which makes a difference as well.

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  7. Your post struck a nerve, as I was just thinking the same thing today. Things don't always turn out as we expect in the garden, do they? I planted 6 expensive Allium 'Gladiator' bulbs and 6 lilies from The Lily Garden ($15 each!) last fall, with great anticipation, and they all seem to have died over the winter. Of course there have also been various other unexpected changes in plans (i.e. why did RU send me the wrong rose, which turned out to be rather nice?!), which had me feeling like a bad gardener. Your post made me feel better. On a different note, I'm amazed at huge variety of plants/cultivars that you have access to. Not a lot of options here other than the basics.

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    1. Seems like its either: "What was I thinking?" or "Why didn't I think of that?" with nothing in between.

      Oooh, a rose from RU! Hope you got a good one. They have an outstanding collection from what I can tell. $15 per bulb, ouch!!! Sorry to hear that, and now no new lily flowers to anticipate, either.

      Alliums here don't grow at all, and Lillium lasts only 1 or 2 years. The towering glory they reach (for example in the PNW) are to be seriously envied.

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    2. RU sent me 'Alexandra, Princesse de Luxembourg' instead of 'Princess Alexandra of Kent' which is an understandable mistake (I think I mentioned it on GardenWeb), and it has turned out to be unexpectedly nice (even if not of the style of my other roses), so my plans to replace it with 'Alnwick Castle' has gone awry. What do do with that third 'Alnwick' that I had planned to put in that spot?! I'm giving it to a friend, but the scheme of that bed has changed. Am I a "bad gardener" for not being ruthless and tearing out what wasn't on the plan? Or is it worse to rip out a healthy happy plant that has yet to show its potential? Ah the angst of the garden. LOL!

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  8. My 'Ken Taylor' fremontodendron has been looking unhappy with life since planting a year ago...but in the last two weeks became covered in buds. Some plants are just sneaky that way!

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    1. Ah, a smallish Fremontodendron! That will be an interesting experiment.

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  9. HB, springtime looks great in your garden! Your roses are stunning, that yellow rose is perfection.

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    1. Thanks! Enjoy your autumn, while we dread the coming of that season after Spring. ;^)

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